Oxford Summer School 2018

Game Creation Course for Ages 11-12 Ages 11-12

Gaming is expanding as rapidly now as it did in its early years - perhaps even more so. The global gaming industry is worth more than $100 billion dollars, and that value is still growing. With this comes a world of opportunity in terms of careers and future study paths for today's children. ORA's Game Creation for ages 11-12 course lays the foundations for that future in a fun, creative and interactive way.

Course Summary

A young mind is full of creative ideas. This course gives students a chance to convert their great gaming ideas into real, working games that people can play and share.

Students will use the Construct 2 engine to create cross-platform, 2-dimensional games. They will start from design, set up the layout, and add logic, movements and winning conditions, all without programming or previous experience in game making.
Game Creation for ages 11-12 is a 'hands on' summer course, and is designed to provide an insight into what future study, or even employment, might be like in the world of video game development.

This course is the perfect partner for our Coding with Scratch for ages 11-12 summer course; the two can be taken in consecutive weeks to make a two-week tech summer school.

The ORA junior summer school experience

Where could the Game Creation course lead you?

Why choose Game Creation?

Participants on this course will create games using an engine called Construct 2. A powerful engine, yet considered perfect for beginners, Construct 2 is based on HTML5. Instead of typing out code, students will use Construct 2's block-based, drag and drop interface, which allows them to bring their ideas to life much more quickly!

Construct 2 also allows students to add sound and graphics to their games, and make exciting things happen using behaviours and events.

How will the Game Creation course help me?

Students will first learn about the building blocks of video games, including graphics, actions and events.
Participants will then move on to making their own 'Space Defence'-themed game - they will determine how a character is controlled, and how the enemies in the game behave, and add multiple levels and more intelligent enemies as they go.

In producing two functioning games, students will gain an appreciation of how to plan and manage a small game coding project. This will be a useful transferable skill for school projects, and beyond!

Another key transferable skills students will get the chance to work on is problem solving. Problem solving is very important in programming - not everything works first time, and students will develop skills in course-correction and initiative to find solutions, build workarounds and spot problems in the first instance.

Is this the course for me?

If you would like to learn how to create your own game from scratch, watch it take shape before your eyes, and have great fun playing against new friends from all over the world, then this course is for you.

Topics covered

During this intensive one-week game development course, students will cover all the key skills required to build simple games, including:

What will you get out of the Game Creation course?

Students attending the Game Creation course will leave the course with knowledge of the basic building blocks of games from the perspective of the Construct 2 engine. They will have designed and built two games, exercising their problem-solving skills along the way, and reach the end of the course with a desirable life skill which they can take forward into future programming opportunities.

Welcome to St Mary's School, Ascot - your home this summer

Students on our Junior summer school courses at St Mary's School, Ascot, will enjoy the facilities of one of the top boarding schools in the UK, with its extensive grounds and well-equipped learning spaces.

During lessons, students will be taught by experienced tutors, while outside of class they will enjoy a varied extracurricular programme in a safe environment, led by our student counsellors.

The international environment, combined with top-quality tutoring in a world-class venue, make Oxford Royale's Junior Summer School the best junior summer school in the UK.

Sample Timetable

Useful information for students & parents

Accommodation

Students will be accommodated in comfortable twin or dormitory rooms, separated by gender - please contact our registrations team if you would like more information. Accommodation is the standard accommodation for school pupils who study at St Mary's School, Ascot, so students are able to get a flavour for what being a pupil at this prestigious UK boarding school is like. Bathrooms are typically shared between students of the same gender.

Pastoral care & student welfare

The programme is overseen by the Programme Director, who implements the day-to-day running of the programme. The Director is assisted by a team of Counsellors who are there to help pupils with their daily needs and to run activities for them outside of class. The Counsellors ensure that students are looked after pastorally, culturally and socially during their programme. Students are able to talk informally and frankly to the Counsellors in order to raise concerns or to discuss their course. Residential staff live in the school throughout the programme and are able to assist students at any time of the day or night.

Eligibility & pre-requisites

Students on this course:

Must conform to our age policy.

Must be fluent or near-fluent English language speakers – if you are unsure whether your English level is suitable for this programme, please contact our Registrations Team on admin@oxford-royale.co.uk and they will be able to assist you.

Must be able to fulfil the basic requirements of the programme, in terms of attendance at lessons, meals and events. Please contact our Registrations Team for more detailed information.

Should check the prerequisites of each course they select before enrolling.

Game Creation Course (11-12) is residential in the following locations:

(If your course takes place in more than one campus in the same city and you would like to know more about which location you will be allocated, please call our registrations team)

Check Availability & Apply Online

What our students have to say

Jason, USA

Oxford Royale was the best summer camp I have ever attended. Not only did I learn a lot through the course, but I also met people from all over the world. In addition, I really got to know my fellow students and the counselors through the time we spent together on the excursions and evening activities. Overall, this was an awesome experience and I would recommend it to pretty much anyone.

Aaron, USA

I had an amazing time at ORA. Every student was incredibly friendly and smart, and I had a wonderful time getting to know each and every person. My time at ORA flew by and by the time it was time to leave I couldn’t believe I was leaving my new friends. I highly recommend the programme as an opportunity to make friends and learn about other cultures.

Zsanka, Sweden

I have had an incredibly fun, cultivating experience at Oxford Royale Academy. I have gained so much knowledge that will help me with studies and in life. I have also met the most incredibly intelligent people. The memories I have made here will stay with me for life as I am so happy to have stayed in Oxford.

Oxford Royale Academy is a part of Oxford Programs Limited, UK company number 6045196. The company contracts with institutions including Oxford University for the use of their facilities and also contracts with tutors from those institutions but does not operate under the aegis of Oxford University.